Posted on Jul 29, 2015
CW3 Standardization Officer
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On this day in 1958, the U.S. Congress passes legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space. NASA has since sponsored space expeditions, both human and mechanical, that have yielded vital information about the solar system and universe. It has also launched numerous earth-orbiting satellites that have been instrumental in everything from weather forecasting to navigation to global communications.

NASA was created in response to the Soviet Union’s October 4, 1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I. The 183-pound, basketball-sized satellite orbited the earth in 98 minutes. The Sputnik launch caught Americans by surprise and sparked fears that the Soviets might also be capable of sending missiles with nuclear weapons from Europe to America. The United States prided itself on being at the forefront of technology, and, embarrassed, immediately began developing a response, signaling the start of the U.S.-Soviet space race.

On November 3, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik II,which carrieda dog named Laika. In December, America attempted to launch a satellite of its own, called Vanguard, but it exploded shortly after takeoff. On January 31, 1958, things went better with Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite to successfully orbit the earth. In July of that year, Congress passed legislation officially establishing NASA from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and other government agencies, and confirming the country’s commitment to winning the space race. In May 1961, President John F. Kennedydeclared thatAmerica should put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission achieved that goal and made history when astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, saying “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

NASA has continued to make great advances in space exploration since the first moonwalk, including playing a major part in the construction of the International Space Station. The agency has also suffered tragic setbacks, however, such as the disasters that killed the crews of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986 and the Columbia space shuttle in 2003. In 2004, President George Bush challenged NASA to return to the moon by 2020 and establish “an extended human presence” there that could serve as a launching point for “human missions to Mars and to worlds beyond.”

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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CPT Jack Durish
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Without doubt my favorite moment was when man walked on the Moon and NASA completed its mission. Sadly, like all bureaucracies, they hung on. Now we spend as much as we did when they had a mission and for what, Arab outreach? It's time to shut it down and allow the military to direct its own space efforts (for tactical and strategic purposes) and civilian enterprises to pursue commercial use of space. Remember, NASA didn't really put the man on the Moon, they simply funneled monies to private contractors that accomplished the mission.
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CPT Jack Durish you make some good but depressing points. I was a huge fan of NASA growing up, I owe a great deal of my drive to be a pilot to dreams of going to the moon. They did indeed answer the challenge of the president, great accomplishment. I am also surprised at the amount of advancements civilian corporations are presently making, sparks some new-age excitement.
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PO1 John Miller
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Easy, landing on the moon! Although the recent Pluto flyby is very cool too.
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CW3 Standardization Officer
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SGT (Join to see) I am jealous! Sounds like some experiences that will not be topped!
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SGT Infantryman (Airborne)
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I went back to work there after I got out of the Army. That was the day's when they had to hold open a spot for you after your military service. In 1968 NASA Houston slowed down and the contract companies like GE were shutdown. The main NASA facilities were moved to Huntsville, Alabama. I was moved to an interesting project when that happened. All of the IBM tapes had to be cleaned of all the information on them. That took about a month. Those IBM computers were about the size of two pool tables. The reels they used were 18" reels. Anyway it was one of the best jobs I've ever had.
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SGT (Join to see) I hope I have such fond memories of my job post Army life! Thanks for sharing.
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SGT Infantryman (Airborne)
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CW3 (Join to see), Awesome memories Sir.
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